Breaking Ground

I love the shabbiness of allotments. Nevertheless I felt weeds and grass had got out of hand on our preparation day. Thus I took the strimmer and spade to prepare the allotment for the residency proper which starts in a few weeks’ time. It looks much better for its late summer clean.

I took the opportunity for a lesson and examined the leaves of the vegetables and fruit bushes. Spent a happy hour printing from these.

Following our second preparation day, I put aside some time to go through all the photographs I’ve taken at the allotment so far, and to begin to make up a work book in which links might begin to appear.

A couple of photographs have already prompted ideas in my mind. One seems particularly appropriate for our collaboration – “An extra pair of hands”, while a recurring theme, seen here in the image of the shopping trolley, is the constant exchange on the allotment between indoors and outdoors. This set me thinking of words which are common to both the context of cultivation and the domestic, with “beds” for growing vegetables, “carpets” of grass and “blankets” of blossom.

Still of prime importance for the residency is providing ourselves with a shelter. The weather on Wednesday was perfect, but we can’t rely on that to continue, and we will need somewhere to store and look at work as we make it. We have had an offer of help to build a shelter and will be having a meeting to discuss it next week.

ALLOTMENT DAY-TYPEWRITER BURIAL

On Brighton beach 8 years ago when I was beginning my new life in art I found a rusty burned typewriter. It represented change and I made several pieces of work based on this typewriter. But it is ready to be buried on the Downs, ready for further change.Judith assisted with the photography and filming and we got some good shots. We went for a cuppa in the garden centre. I deleted some bad photos and inadvertently erased the whole memory card.

And we could not find the other memory card full of the best ones. However after frantic searching we found it and retook the missing pictures.

At the tail end of the day I helped Judith begin to construct a 3D shed using canes and string. She gained some useful experience and we plan to continue this next time.

Laid out the polaroids that I found on the allotment a few months ago. There are 23 – tables, chairs, chests, whatnot table and paintings. The bluish green faded colours are beautiful. I hope by handling them, placing them, scanning them that ideas will arise of how to use them. They look like doll’s furniture but they are full size antiques. I will show them to Judith again tomorrow as we have a preparation day on the allotment.

We had a progress meeting yesterday. Up for discussion were plans for our next preparation day. We hope to realise 2 pieces – filming the burial of my typewriter, which has been planned for some time; and marking out a 3D plan of the shed with string and canes. A place to work in the dry and somewhere to display work is important for the residency. We are chasing up contacts to try and find a suitable shelter.

Meanwhile normal harvesting continues. Potatoes, garlic and parsley are the crops of the day.